Story By Heather Heil
As students start to get older many of them will start thinking about college. Most students start to really think about college when they first get to high school. For some seniors, they have been saving since they were little. Senior Diego Orfin says, “My parents have been saving for me and my brother pretty much our whole lives.”
Some seniors have started to save their own money. “My parents have had some money saved since I was little but I first started saving my sophomore year when I got my first job” Senior Breanna King says.
College can be expensive. The funds to pay for it have gone up over the years. Prices have increased a total of 13 percent since 2010. Between the years of 2005 and 2010 there was a 24 percent increase.
“It makes it harder for students to be able to go to college because of how much the prices are raising and also all the debt that comes with it afterward” King says.
College prices have affected people who go to college. The amount of students who go to college after high school has lowered since the price increase. “As a student going into college it makes it harder for me to be able to afford and go to the college I want because of the expenses” King says.
Most families will get the money from their work. Parents will take a certain amount of money out of their paycheck to put it towards college. “My parents take out a certain amount of money from their paycheck and put it in a college savings account for me and my brother” Orfin says.
Ways that students can get money for college is taking it out of their own paychecks. If they were given savings bonds as children they could cash those in to receive extra money. Savings bonds are bonds which are often purchased for children when they are very young. The bonds increase in value over time.
Also, a student can get a 529 account. This is where a student puts money in and they can only use it for educational purposes. However, these accounts to build up interest.
To save money, students can go to a community college. By doing this they can get their electives out of the way or get the associates degree. This will save them money because they will be able to live at home and credit hours are usually cheaper.
